Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy all looking for different levels of better

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Since he won the Barracuda Championship in a playoff on Sunday, Chris Stroud has received 1,400 text messages, 55 voicemails and another 100 or so emails. And he has replied to every single one. “I’m a big believer in that,â€� Stroud said. “I told a few guys after golf is gone and done for me, all you have left is people and the relationships you have. I care more about people than I do about my golf. I was raised that way. I’m grateful. I’m grateful to have a chance to play on the TOUR and stay healthy.â€� The victory, which was the first of Stroud’s career, enabled him to jump 68 spots on the FedExCup list to 76th to secure his playing privileges for two more years. He’s also headed to Maui in January to play in the SBS Tournament of Champions for the first time. The win also prompted another change in travel plans – landing him in the PGA Championship. And he made the most of the opportunity, shooting a 68 that left him one stroke off the lead held jointly by Thorbjorn Olesen and Kevin Kisner. “Today was one of the easiest rounds,â€� Stroud said. “Obviously I’m playing well. I’m swinging it nicely and putting it well. That has a lot to do with it. It’s a deep confidence that I have.â€� Stroud says his caddie was instrumental in Sunday’s victory and played a big role in Thursday’s round, which was the only bogey-free one of the day. Whenever Stroud starts talking about golf these days, his caddie switches the subject. “We talk about science,â€� Stroud said. “We talk about spirituality, baseball, football, Texans, Houston Astros. Anything to keep my mind off golf. As soon as I hit it, I’m talking about something else. If I say something he goes, hey, hey, hey, we don’t care about golf. “It’s just an experiment we tried last week and it absolutely worked.â€� Stroud, who had been on the road for five weeks, had actually planned to go home to Houston this week to see his wife and their two daughters. Next week he was headed to Greensboro to play in the Wyndham Championship. Instead, he and his caddie drove 2 hours from Reno, Nevada, to Sacramento on Sunday night and bought two first-class tickets to Charlotte. He got in late Monday night and slept until about 11 a.m. “I couldn’t tell what time it was,â€� he said. “Open the curtains and it’s bright. I went to bed at like 2.â€� As nice as the texts and emails and phone messages were, Stroud’s parents flew to North Carolina on Wednesday to surprise him. “We had our celebration dinner last night, just us three,â€� the Texan said. “It was a dream. When I was 9 years old, I knew I wanted to be on the PGA TOUR. I got into college, I was 17, 18 years old. I knew I had a chance to be really good and get on the TOUR. “When I got out here, obviously my dream was to win and be as good as I can. It’s at least a 20-year dream come true.â€� At the same time, Stroud admits that he had gotten to the point where he could accept that he’d had a solid career – regardless of what happened. Of course, he wanted to win but he finally realized that he was getting in his own way. “About six months ago I said you know what, I’ve had 10 years of good runs out here,â€� Stroud said. “I’ve played well. I don’t care if I win anymore. I want to win but I can’t let that be on my shoulders all the time. I’m not going to worry about it. “I’m going to play the best I can and let’s just ride this out. I don’t know if I’m good enough. I don’t know if I’m good enough to win or keep my card. And since I surrendered to that, it’s like all of a sudden things got — the weight is off my shoulders. “All these people have told me this for years. To actually do that, I had to get to the bottom to figure that out. I literally just said you know what I’m done. I’m just going to do the best I can and have as much fun as I can. “All of a sudden it falls in my lap.â€�

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ALBANY, Bahamas – FedExCup champion Justin Thomas set the over/under market at four questions. Turns out the over won when there were five Tiger Woods questions before his own exploits were asked about in Albany. He might have plumped his cash on the under as he playfully asked if anyone wanted to know about him just as the fourth Woods verbal volley came his way. And his press conference finished with another on Woods taking the total to six, just under half those thrown at him from the assembled media. It’s possibly a new dawn for Thomas and the rest of the youth brigade that combined last season to dominate the PGA TOUR. There were 18 wins last season by players 25 and under. 18. That’s eight more than the previous best of 10 which came in a year when a young Woods won nine of them. Never before has Thomas, or Jordan Spieth, or Daniel Berger, or Hideki Matsuyama, or Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele and the like actually really seen the real Woods in action. They know of him. Heck, half the reason they play the game is because they grew up watching him. “I’m probably just as excited to watch it as you are,â€� Thomas told the media while revealing he still YouTube’s Woods highlights.  “I just get a front row seat to it on Thursday, but I’m also looking forward to trying to kick his ass, to be perfectly honest.â€� His final comment came with a smile and was indicative of the “newâ€� Tiger. Woods has befriended many of the young players, often having a hit with Thomas or Rickie Fowler or others. And they constantly needle each other. “There’s nothing wrong with that. It goes both ways,â€� Woods said when told of Thomas’ jibe. The young guns haven’t had to face the steely Woods of old. The one who wouldn’t turn his head on the range or course to acknowledge you. He’d only move his eyes – and they’d look right though you. And they may not ever see it. But, if Woods does start becoming a regular presence on the TOUR again and if he does start putting himself into contention once in a while, they will feel a whole new level of pressure. “If he gets back to that point every week he’ll be the favorite and he’ll win a lot of tournaments,â€� defending Hero World Challenge champion Matsuyama said.  “So I’m really excited to see what happens and also to be able to compete and hopefully get better and be right there with him.â€� Veteran Rod Pampling recently said he was extremely hopeful Woods could return to his heady days just for the drama it could create for the youth. He’s not sure they know exactly what they’re wishing for. “I want to see him stare down a few of these young guys so they can experience what it’s like when the hairs stand up on the back of your neck or when he’s the guy you have to chase,â€� Pampling grinned. “They’ve seen his dominance as kids, but they’ve never felt it. Realistically if he got to 75 percent of where he used to be he’d still be able to win a couple of times a year.â€� But Spieth and Thomas aren’t deterred. They want to see Woods get to that level. Not only do they want to see it first hand, instead of on YouTube, but they also want to test themselves against the best – not an injured version of it. Spieth has in fact played with Woods on seven official TOUR rounds and has never been beaten by the 79-time winner. But this was not Woods at his best. “Growing up watching him kind of dominate and then idolizing and now having gone through similar situations, it makes him underrated,â€� Spieth explained. “Just the mental toughness he had is still underrated even though it’s rated pretty high. It’s rated best ever. “I certainly hope he becomes healthy enough to get rounds in, to get tournaments in to where he can kind of get back into where he’s competing week in and week out and if that’s the case, then as long as we stay healthy, I imagine paths will cross at some point.â€� And while they’ve been enjoying the limelight for their amazing success, will they find any frustration in being dwarfed by the Woods media and fan juggernaut? Will they be able to handle the focus constantly being on someone else? They are after all millennials who – at times – are prone to crave affirmation. Adam Scott once talked of how when he was in his early 20s, and Woods was dominating, it was almost impossible not to feel like you were playing for second. And when you entered the Woods arena, with the fans going mental… well trying to stay in your own game was near impossible. The modern-day youngster is without this fear. And the experience they already have will put them in good stead. But it doesn’t make them immune. While Woods is all friendly now – are the youngsters prepared to handle him on the heat of a Sunday if he turns hard core? “I never played against that person,â€� Thomas says. “I’ve watched him on TV but until you’re there and you stand and you watch the golf shots, you hear the sound it makes, you watch the putts, chips, then you really get an idea, but I guess we’ll just wait to have to see.â€� We are certainly still in the wait and see bracket – but it would be something special if in six months from now the old and the new are both knocking down flags and climbing leaderboards.

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Scottie Scheffler broke through, Rory McIlroy dominated the summer and the PGA Tour faced off against LIV Golf in a season of departures and high-profile feuding.

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